Technique for crosstalk reduction

ABSTRACT

A technique for cancelling or reducing crosstalk signals between controlled oscillators in an integrated circuit is provided. The technique involves an arrangement adapted to reduce a crosstalk signal generated by a first controlled oscillator to a second oscillator both comprised in the integrated circuit, wherein both controlled oscillators are configured to output a respective clock signal. The arrangement comprises a detector adapted to detect the crosstalk signal generated by the first controlled oscillator to the second controlled oscillator, a crosstalk cancellation circuit adapted to generate a cancellation signal having an amplitude substantially the same as that of the crosstalk signal and a phase substantially opposite to that of the crosstalk signal, and a cancellation signal injector adapted to introduce the cancellation signal into the second controlled oscillator.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to crosstalk reduction and particularlycrosstalk reduction in an integrated circuit (IC) comprising multiplecontrolled oscillators (COs).

BACKGROUND

Clock signals are important to the functioning of radio communicationsystems. In such systems, clock signals are required for variouspurposes, such as synchronization. Without reliable, accurate clocksignals, radio communication systems cannot work properly.

In many radio communication devices, such as mobile terminals, radiofrequency (RF) clock signals are usually generated by certain on-chipcomponents, e.g., by phase locked loops (PLLs) which can lock to anexternal crystal resonator as a reference clock input with variousdividing factors. Normally, for different components of the devicerunning at different frequencies, multiple PLLs are required in theintegrated circuit. For example, for transmitter and receiver circuitsof a mobile terminal running at different frequencies, at least two PLLsare usually required.

Multi-function mobile terminals have become popular in the recent years.As mobile terminals become more and more advanced and complicated,multiple RF clock signals are needed for different applications, such asWireless LAN, Bluetooth, GPS, cellular communication, etc. Moreover, insome newly suggested radio standards, such as 3GPP TS 36.101 v.10.4.0(2011-09), in order to increase communication data rate, carrieraggregation is suggested, where two or more RF clock signals may berequired for the receiver and the transmitter, respectively.

However, creating RF clock signals using multiple PLLs is not an easytask, especially for on-chip integrated solutions. Among others,crosstalk between multiple PLLs is a serious problem.

FIG. 1 illustrates the crosstalk problem between PLLs in a conceptualmanner. As suggested in FIG. 1, two PLLs are integrated into one chip.Each PLL comprises a controlled oscillator (CO) to generate therespective clock signal. The controlled oscillator may be an LC-basedvoltage controlled oscillator (VCO), which comprises an inductor L and acapacitor C, as shown in FIG. 1. This also can be applied to digitallycontrolled oscillators where inductor and capacitor are employed. Sincethe coupling coefficient, indicated as K₁₂, of the inductors (L₁ and L₂)of the two respective VCOs (VCO₁ and VCO₂) is not zero due toelectromagnetic radiation. Crosstalk/leakage (including electromagneticcoupling and interference) may be generated between the two PLLs, thuscausing an adverse effect to the generation of the clock signals. Theinterference can be caused by factors such as poor supply de-coupling,unwanted coupling effects of passive and active devices, like packageand ESD protection circuits, etc.

More understanding of the crosstalk problem can be gathered from FIG. 2,which shows, in the frequency domain, the clock signals generated by thetwo PLLs, the crosstalk signals existing there between, and the actualoutput of the two PLLs.

Specifically, in FIG. 2, C₁ and C₂ indicate the clock signals generatedby VCO₁ and VCO₂, respectively, L₁ indicates the unwanted crosstalksignal from VCO₁ to VCO₂, and L₂ represents the unwanted crosstalksignal in the reverse direction, i.e., from VCO₂ to VCO₁. D₂₁ and D₁₂are power ratios between the power of the wanted clock signals and thepower of the respective unwanted crosstalk signals.

When multiple PLLs are integrated into a single chip, they willinterfere with each other, and the crosstalk between their VCOs willbecome a critical issue which can degrade the performance of the PLLs.For example, the PLLs will suffer from increased phase noise, frequencyshift, and difficulty in locking. In the worst case, the PLLs may failto perform the locking. The crosstalk depends on several factors. Twotypical factors are the physical distance and the frequency differencebetween two PLLs in question.

One way to reduce the crosstalk between multiple PLLs is to physicallyseparate the PLLs apart. For instance, with reference to the LC-basedPLLs illustrated in FIG. 1, the two inductors L1 and L2 of therespective controlled oscillators can be positioned on the same chip butfar from each other.

A result from electromagnetic simulation for the coupling between thetwo inductors is shown in FIG. 3, where the normalized distance is theratio of separation distance divided by the diameter of the inductors,and the coupling coefficient is the isolation between the two inductors.

Although this separation solution can reduce the crosstalk betweenmultiple PLLs on a chip, it is sometimes impractical due to therequirement of a large silicon area. This is especially true where thechip for hosting the PLLs must be small. Thus, the solution could becomeexpensive, in particular for implementations requiring deep nanometerCMOS techniques. Moreover, the metal usage for routing among theseparation area between the two inductors could make the situation evenworse.

SUMMARY

It is therefore an object to cancel, minimize, or at least reduce thecrosstalk between multiple COs arranged in an integrated circuit.

In a first aspect, an arrangement is provided for reducing a crosstalksignal generated by a first controlled oscillator (CO) to a second CO,both of which are comprised in an integrated circuit. Each CO is adaptedto output a respective clock signal. The arrangement comprises a (first)detector adapted to detect the crosstalk signal and a (first) crosstalkcancellation circuit adapted to generate a cancellation signal. Thecancellation signal is of substantially the same amplitude as that ofthe crosstalk signal, but the phase of the cancellation signal issubstantially opposite to that of the crosstalk signal. Further, thearrangement comprises a (first) cancellation signal injector adapted tointroduce the cancellation signal into the second CO.

The (first) detector may comprise a mixer stage adapted to produce amixed signal by mixing the clock signal generated by the second CO withanother CO clock signal, wherein the other clock signal has a (e.g.,fixed) relationship with the clock signal generated by the second CO.The detector may further comprise a filter adapted to at least partiallyremove one or more direct current (DC) components and/or one or moreundesired mixing products (such as integer times of the frequencydifference between the second CO and another CO) from the mixed signal.The “filter” mentioned above may be implemented by one or more filterstages. As a result of the removal, a filtered signal is produced. Thedetector may further comprise a signal convertor adapted to convert, ordown-convert, the filtered signal into a DC signal and an output foroutputting the DC signal as an indication for the crosstalk signal.

The arrangement may further comprise a controller adapted to provide acontrolled signal to adjust the amplitude and/or the phase of thecancellation signal. The adjustment may be performed based on theindication for the crosstalk signal.

The (first) crosstalk cancellation circuit of the arrangement mayfurther comprise at least one of a variable gain amplifier and avariable phase shift circuit. The variable gain amplifier may be adaptedto adjust the amplitude of the cancellation signal whereas the variablephase shift circuit may be adapted to adjust the phase of thecancellation signal.

The (first) crosstalk cancellation circuit may further comprise anadjustment circuitry adapted to adjust the cancellation signal, whereinthe adjustment circuitry may comprise a quadrature phase splitteradapted to provide a first cancellation signal component with a firstphase shift and to provide a second cancellation signal component with asecond phase shift, where the difference between the first and secondphase shifts is essentially 90 degrees. The adjustment circuitry mayfurther comprise at least one of a first variable gain amplifier adaptedto adjust an amplitude of the first cancellation signal component and asecond variable gain amplifier adapted to adjust an amplitude of thesecond cancellation signal component, such that the (first) crosstalkcancellation circuit is adapted to generate the cancellation signal as asum of the first and second cancellation signal components with anyamplitude adjustment.

The signal converter mentioned above may comprise one of a rectifier anda component which comprises a low pass filter and an amplifier arrangedsuch as to extract the magnitude of the filtered signal.

The (first) cancellation signal injector mentioned above may furthercomprise a buffer adapted to isolate the cancellation signal from thesecond CO. The (first) injector may further comprise a coupler forcoupling the cancellation signal to the second CO. The coupler providescoupling of either an inductive type or a capacitive type. Furthermore,on-chip twisted differential transmission lines may be provided in thearrangement between the first CO and the second CO.

The above-mentioned arrangement may further comprise a second detectorfor detecting another crosstalk signal, this signal is being generatedby the second CO to the first CO. The arrangement may further comprise asecond crosstalk cancellation circuit adapted to generate anothercancellation signal having an amplitude substantially the same as thatof the crosstalk signal detected by the second detector and a phasesubstantially opposite to that of the crosstalk signal. Further, thearrangement may comprise a second cancellation signal injector adaptedto introduce the other cancellation signal into the first CO.

According to a second aspect, this disclosure provides a radiocommunication device comprising one or more of the arrangementsmentioned above. The radio communication device may be realized in theform of a mobile telephone, smartphone, data or network card, and so on.

According to a third aspect, a method is provided for reducing acrosstalk signal generated by a CO to a second CO, both comprised in anintegrated circuit arrangement. Each CO may be configured to output arespective clock signal. The method comprises the steps of detecting acrosstalk signal generated by the first CO to the second CO, generatinga cancellation signal having an amplitude substantially the same as thatof the crosstalk signal and a phase substantially opposite to that ofthe crosstalk signal, and injecting the cancellation signal into thesecond CO to reduce the crosstalk signal.

The step of detecting the crosstalk signal may further compriseproducing a mixed signal by mixing the clock signal generated by thesecond CO with another CO clock signal having a fixed relationship withthe clock signal generated by the second CO (“fixed” means that no othervariable affects the relationship between the first and second clocksignals). For example, the second clock signal may be derived from thefirst clock signal by letting the first clock signal pass, say, a phaseshifter, a limiter, and/or a filter. (The “filter” may be implemented byone or more filters.) Thus, the second clock signal is more or less acopy of the first clock signal possibly with some modification but atleast having the same dominant spectral components), at least partiallyremoving one or more DC components and/or one or more undesired mixingproducts (such as integer times of the frequency difference between thefirst CO and the other CO) from the mixed signal by filtering to therebyproduce a filtered signal, down-converting the filtered signal into a DCsignal, and outputting the DC signal as an indication for the crosstalksignal.

Based on the indication for the crosstalk signal, the amplitude and/orthe phase of the cancellation signal may further be controlled.

The method mentioned above may further comprise detecting a secondcrosstalk signal generated by the second CO to the first CO, generatinganother cancellation signal having an amplitude substantially the sameas that of the second crosstalk signal and a phase substantiallyopposite to that of the second crosstalk signal, and injecting thecancellation signal into the first CO to reduce the second crosstalksignal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following, the crosstalk reduction technique presented herein isfurther described with reference to the exemplary embodimentsillustrated in the figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating the crosstalkphenomenon associated with two on-chip PLLs employing two LC-basedcontrolled oscillators respectively;

FIG. 2 is a spectrum diagram illustrating the clock signals generated bytwo controlled oscillators of two respective on-chip PLLs, the crosstalksignals created there between and the actual output of the controlledoscillators;

FIG. 3 is a chart showing a result of an electromagnetic (EM) simulationwith respect to coupling between two coils, the coils being employed inthe inductors of the two controlled oscillators of two respectiveLC-based PLLs;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a first exemplary arrangement forreducing crosstalk between two controlled oscillators of two respectivePLLs, both comprised in an integrated circuit;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a second exemplary arrangement forreducing crosstalk between two controlled oscillators of the tworespective PLLs, both comprised in an integrated circuit;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a third exemplary arrangement forreducing crosstalk between two controlled oscillators of two respectivePLLs, both comprised in an integrated circuit;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an exemplary active crosstalkcancellation circuit which can be employed in the variouscrosstalk-reduction arrangements described in the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an another exemplary active crosstalkcancellation circuit which can be employed in the variouscrosstalk-reduction arrangements described in the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing two examples of couplers andtransmission wire pair which may be used in the crosstalk-reductionarrangements described in the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a first exemplary crosstalk detectiontechnique which may be used in the various crosstalk-reductionarrangements presented in this disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a spectrum diagram showing the signal spectra at differentlocations of a second exemplary crosstalk detection technique which maybe used in the various crosstalk-reduction arrangements presented inthis disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a third exemplary crosstalk detectiontechnique which may be used in the various crosstalk-reductionarrangements presented in this disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a fourth exemplary crosstalkdetection technique which may be used in the various crosstalk-reductionarrangements presented in this disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a fifth exemplary crosstalk detectiontechnique which may be used in the various crosstalk-reductionarrangements presented in this disclosure; and

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of thecrosstalk-reduction technique provided in the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following, for purposes of explanation and not limitation,specific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that this disclosure may be practiced in embodimentsthat depart from these specific details. For instance, although theexemplary embodiments are described in connection with reference tointegrated circuits comprising two PLLs each having a controlledoscillator, such as a voltage controlled oscillator, which are forgenerating respective clock signals and comprise two inductorsrespectively which have a coupling coefficient K there between, itshould be noted that the crosstalk reduction technique presented in thisdisclosure is not limited to the physical layout of any of the exemplaryintegrated circuits described below. For instance, more than two PLLsmay be provided in the integrated circuit, other clock-generatingcomponents may replace the controlled oscillators, and so on.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a first exemplary arrangement forcrosstalk reduction. The arrangement is indicated as 10, and itfunctions to reduce the crosstalk between two controlled oscillators CO₁and CO₂, indicated as 12 and 14 respectively (e.g., of two respectivePLLs, not shown in FIG. 4) arranged in an integrated circuit 16.Particularly, as shown in FIG. 4, the crosstalk to be reduced,figuratively indicated by the arch 18, is generated by the firstcontrolled oscillator (CO₁) 12 to the second controlled oscillator (CO₂)14. Each controlled oscillator 12, 14 is configured to output arespective clock signal. The arrangement 10 comprises a detector CD 20adapted to detect the crosstalk signal (that is, the detector 20 may beregarded as a crosstalk detector) and a crosstalk cancelation circuitALC 22 adapted to generate a cancelation signal. The amplitude of thecancelation signal is substantially the same as that of the crosstalksignal 18, while the phase of the cancelation signal is substantiallyopposite to that of the crosstalk signal 18. The arrangement 10 furthercomprises a cancellation signal injector, figuratively indicated by thepointed arrow 24, adapted to introduce the cancelation signal into thesecond controlled oscillator.

Corresponding to the exemplary arrangement 10 shown in FIG. 4, a methodcan be provided for crosstalk reduction between multiple controlledoscillators (of, e.g., PLLs) on-chip. An embodiment of the method, shownin FIG. 15 as flowchart 100, can reduce the crosstalk signal generatedby the first controlled oscillator CO₁ 12 to the second controlledoscillator CO₂ 14, both comprised in the integrated circuit 16. Thecontrolled oscillators CO₁ 12 and CO₂ 14 are adapted to outputrespective clock signals.

The method comprises the following steps: At step 102, a crosstalksignal generated by the first controlled oscillator CO₁ 12 to the secondcontrolled oscillator CO₂ 14 is detected. At step 104, a cancellationsignal is generated which has an amplitude substantially the same asthat of the crosstalk signal and a phase substantially opposite thereto.Then at step 106, the cancellation signal is injected into the secondcontrolled oscillator CO₂ 14 to reduce the crosstalk signal.

In the following arrangements, which illustrate optional details of thesecond arrangement 10 illustrated in FIG. 4, it is assumed thatPLL_(i and PLL) ₂ comprise VCO₁ and VCO₂, which comprise inductors L₁and L₂ having coupling coefficient K₁₂, respectively. The arrangementscomprise an active crosstalk cancellation loop, or active leakagecancellation loop (ALCL) to cancel the leakage/crosstalk between thePLLs.

FIG. 5 shows a second exemplary arrangement for crosstalk reduction.Similar to the case with FIG. 4, the arrangement 30 in FIG. 5 is adaptedto reduce a crosstalk signal generated between two PLLs, PLL₁ 33 andPLL₂ 35, comprised in an integrated circuit 36. Both PLLs 33 and 35comprise a controlled oscillator, VCO₁ 32 and VCO₂ 34, respectively,which are adapted to generate, or output, respective clock signals. Thecontrolled oscillators VCO₁ 32 and VCO₂ 34 shown in FIG. 5 are of theLC-based type, but other types of clock generation components arepossible as well. The coupling coefficient K₁₂, indicated by the arch 38in FIG. 5, creates electromagnetic coupling between the two inductors L₁and L₂ of the respective controlled oscillators, resulting in acrosstalk signal originated from the first controlled oscillator VCO₁ 32to the second controlled oscillator VCO₂ 34 as generally describedabove.

The arrangement 30 further comprises a circuitry between the twocontrolled oscillators 32 and 34 for reducing the crosstalk therebetween. The circuitry is termed as an active leakage cancelation loop,ALCL. Arranged between the two controlled oscillators 32 and 34, theactive leakage cancelation loop ALCL comprises a (first) detector CD₁40, adapted to detect the crosstalk signal (that is, the (first)detector CD₁ 40 may be regarded as a crosstalk detector). The activeleakage cancelation loop ALCL further comprises a (first) crosstalkcancelation circuit ALC₁ 42, adapted to generate a cancelation signal,which has an amplitude substantially the same as that of the crosstalksignal and a phase substantially opposite to that of the crosstalksignal. Further, as figuratively indicated by the pointed arrow leavingthe crosstalk cancelation circuit ALC₁ 42 to the second controlledoscillator VCO₂ 34 in the figure, the arrangement 30 further comprises a(first) cancelation signal injector 44 for introducing the cancelationsignal into the second controlled oscillator VCO₂ 34.

Stable/periodical interference having fixed spectrum, introduced bysupply networks, package or ESD protection circuits, can also be reducedby the cancelation signal. In presence of both electromagnetic couplingand stable/periodical interference, at the crosstalk frequency theireffect can be merged together and viewed as one source of crosstalksignal.

In some implementations, the active leakage cancelation loop ALCL mayfurther comprise a controller, as indicated by 46 in the arrangement 30of FIG. 5. The controller 46 is adapted to provide a control signal toadjust the amplitude and/or the phase of the cancelation signal.

The arrangement 30 for crosstalk reduction shown in FIG. 5 may be seenas a singleloop implementation, since the active leakage cancellationcircuit is adapted to cancel the crosstalk signal in a single direction,i.e., from the first controlled oscillator VCO₁ 32 to the secondcontrolled oscillator VCO₂ 34. To account for crosstalk signals betweenthe two controlled oscillators 32 and 34 in both directions, anotherarrangement comprising a twin-loop active leakage cancelation circuitrycan be used. An exemplary twin-loop arrangement is shown in FIG. 6.

On top of the single-loop implementation of FIG. 5, the arrangement 50shown in FIG. 6 further comprises a second detector CD₂ 41 (“crosstalkdetector”) for detecting another crosstalk signal, which is thecrosstalk signal generated by the second controlled oscillator VCO₂ 34,the controlled oscillator of PLL₂ 35, to the first controlled oscillatorVCO₁ 32, the controlled oscillator of PLL₁ 33. The arrangement 50further comprises a second crosstalk cancelation circuit ALC₂ 43,adapted to generate another cancelation signal, which has an amplitudesubstantially the same as and a phase substantially opposite to that ofthe crosstalk signal detected by the second detector CD₂ 41. Further, asfiguratively indicated by the pointed arrow 45 leaving the secondcrosstalk cancelation circuit ALC₂ 43 to the first controlled oscillatorVCO₁ 32 in the figure, the arrangement 50 further comprises a secondcancelation signal injector 45 for introducing the second cancelationsignal into the first controlled oscillator VCO₁ 32.

More specifically regarding the arrangement 50 shown in FIG. 6, anactive leakage cancellation loop, ALCL, for reducing the crosstalkbetween the two VCOs 32 and 34 in both directions, is shown. Thecoupling coefficient K₁₂ is indicative of the electro-magnet couplingbetween the inductors L₁ and L₂ of the VCOs 32 and 34, respectively,causing the leakage/crosstalk in both directions (i.e., from the VC0 ₁32 to the VCO₂ 34 and vice versa) as the coupling follows thereciprocity principle. For the same reason, the stable/periodicalinterference can also occur in both directions.

In order to achieve crosstalk cancellation in both directions, twoactive leakage cancellation circuits ALC₁ 42 and ALC₂ 43 are provided inthe ALCL, which create two respective cancellation signals each withsubstantially the same amplitude but a substantially opposite phase withrespect to the respective crosstalk signals. Crosstalk detectors CD₁ 40and CD₂ 41 are used to detect the crosstalk and create an error signal.A controller 46 may again be employed to generate a control signal forminimizing the crosstalk. The control signal may be in the form of avector signal. That is, in the twin-loop implementation, each singleloop comprises an active leakage cancellation circuit, a crosstalkdetector, and preferably a controller. In many cases, two or multipleloops can share the same controller.

With respect to the twin-loop crosstalk cancellation arrangement, anexample of which, 50, is shown in FIG. 6, another exemplary method canbe provided for cancelling the crosstalk between two controlledoscillators in both directions. This exemplary comprises, further to thesteps of the method 100 shown in FIG. 15, the following additionalsteps: a second crosstalk signal, i.e., the crosstalk signal generatedby the second controlled oscillator to the first controlled oscillator,is detected; another cancellation signal is generated which has anamplitude substantially the same as and a phase substantially oppositeto that of the second crosstalk signal; and the second cancellationsignal is injected into the first controlled oscillator to cancel thesecond crosstalk signal.

It should be emphasized that the crosstalk reduction technique proposedin this disclosure not only can cancel the crosstalk between twocontrolled oscillators (of e.g., PLLs), but also can be, in general,applied to more general cases where crosstalk between more than twocontrolled oscillators needs reduction. However, for ease ofunderstanding, the detailed description herein is mainly focused on theexamples involving two controlled oscillators.

Referring to FIG. 7, the crosstalk reduction arrangement presented inthis disclosure, such as the single-loop arrangements 10, 30 and thetwin-loop arrangement 50 described above, and particularly the activeleakage cancellation circuit ALC used therein, may further comprise oneor more of a variable phase shift circuit (VPS), indicated as 62 in FIG.7, a variable gain amplifier (VGA) 64, an output buffer 66, and acoupler 68. The ALC can have either a pair of differential outputs or asingle-ended output, and the differential version is illustrated in FIG.7, where the control signal comprises polar phase control informationand gain control information. For example, the VPS 62 may be implementedwith a switched variable RC delay unit using multiphase clocks.

An alternative to the exemplary active leakage cancellation circuit 60of FIG. 7 is shown in FIG. 8, which is based on a vector modulator usingCartesian control signals corresponding to the phase and gain componentsas showed in FIG. 8.

With respect to the exemplary active leakage cancellation circuits 60and 70 of FIGS. 7 and 8, the input differential signals Vinp and Vinnmay be coupled from a first VCO output either directly or indirectly.Further, in twin-loop implementations, the output differential signalsVoutp and Voutn may be coupled to a second VCO output, either directlyor indirectly. Further, in VPS 62, the output phase of the differentialsignals may be adjusted, and in VGA 64, 72 and 74 the output amplitudeof the differential signals can be adjusted, by setting the phase andgain vector control signal. The buffer stage 66, 76 can isolate the VGAoutput from the second VCO output, to, among others, prevent backwardpropagation. The buffer stage 66, 76 may be arranged within the VGA 64,72 and 74.

The coupler 68, 78 can be implemented in different ways. As twoexamples, couplers based on inductive coupling and capacitive couplingare illustrated in FIG. 9( a) and (b), respectively. Further, as shownin FIG. 9, twisted differential transmission lines may be used to drivethe wire pair between two controlled oscillators to reduce unwantedradiation. Shielding methods may be further employed to prevent theunwanted radiation of the twisted differential transmission lines.

A first exemplary crosstalk detector 80 is shown in FIG. 10. Thisdetector is based on self-mixing, where the crosstalk between two PLLs,represented as the i^(th) PLL and the k^(th) PLL, is concerned. As shownin FIG. 10, to detect the crosstalk at the i^(th) controlled oscillator,such as VCO; which generates clock frequency f_(Loi), two mixer stagesmay be employed. The first mixer stage comprises mixer mixLoi, drivenrespectively by the clock signal cos(ω_(Loi)t), here ω_(Loi)=2n f_(Loi),and the input signal, S1(t)=cos(ω_(Loi)t), may be the same clock signalfrom the VCOi.

In an alternative case (also shown in FIG. 10), a limiter, indicated asLimit in the figure, may be inserted in the front of the mixer, whichcan limit the fundamental clock amplitude and enlarge the crosstalksignal. The outputs of the quadrature mixers are added together with acomplex adder. The crosstalk signal is downconverted to a differencefrequency Δf_(ik)=f_(Loi)−f_(Lok) that is the difference frequencybetween the i^(th) VCO and the k^(th) VCO.

The self-mixing scheme can be expressed in the following formula:

$\begin{matrix}{{S\; 1{(t) \cdot S}\; 1(t)} = \left( {{C_{i}{\cos (\alpha)}} + {L_{k\;}{\cos (\beta)}}} \right)^{2}} \\{= {0.5\begin{bmatrix}{{C_{i}^{2}\left( {1 + {\cos \left( {2\alpha} \right)}} \right)} + {L_{k}^{2}\left( {1 + {\cos \left( {2\beta} \right)}} \right)} +} \\{2C_{i}{L_{k}\left( {{\cos \left( {\alpha + \beta} \right)} + {2C_{i}{L_{k}\left( {\cos \left( {\alpha + \beta} \right)} \right.}}} \right.}}\end{bmatrix}}} \\{= {{0.5\left( {C_{i}^{2} + L_{k}^{2}} \right)} + {C_{i}{L_{k}\left( {{\cos \left( {\alpha - \beta} \right)} +} \right.}}}} \\{{0.5\left( {{C_{i}^{2}{\cos \left( {2\alpha} \right)}} + {L_{k}^{2}{\cos \left( {2\beta} \right)}} + {2C_{i}{L_{k}\left( {\cos \left( {\alpha + \beta} \right)} \right)}}} \right.}}\end{matrix}$Here  α = 2π f_(LO 1) + θ₁,  and  β = 2π f_(LO 2) + θ₂

After BPF filtering, the DC components and/or one or more undesiredmixing products such as integer times of the frequency differencebetween COs, are removed, so basically only the term C_(i)L_(k) cos(α−β)is left at the output of the first mixer stage.

Reference is now made to FIG. 11, which shows several spectra associatedwith the crosstalk detection technique introduced above. Assume thatVCOi has an output clock signal comprising crosstalk interference shownin FIG. 11( a). In practice, as the mixer is non-ideal multiplier, itcreates an output m1(t) having spectrum shown in FIG. 11( b). At theoutput of the band pass filter BPF, the DC component is removed,preferably completely, and other inter-modulation tones may also besuppressed effectively. The filtered version of m1(t) is fed to theamplifier Ampd operating at a difference frequency. In practice, the BPFmay be implemented as a combination of a high pass filter and a low passfilter. The function of the high pass filter is to remove the DCcomponent created by the clock signal mixing. The low pass filter is toreduce the undesired mixing products and inter-modulation products. Thespectrum of the amplified signal a1(t) is shown in FIG. 11( c).

In the second mixer stage, the local clock signals are created by mixersmixLoik and mixLoqk where the clock signals from both VCOi and VCOk aremixed to create the difference frequency Δf_(ik). After a low passfilter LPF which removes, among others, some higher order products, aclean difference frequency clock Lod(t) with spectrum shown in FIG. 11(d) is created. Through the difference frequency quadrature clockgenerator DFQC, quadrature clocks sin(Δωt) and cos(Δωt) are createdwhich are used as LO signals to drive the second mixer stage. After thesecond mixer stage, the crosstalk signal is down-converted into DCsignal m2(t), shown in FIG. 11( e). Through the low pass filter LPFb andthe baseband amplifier Ampb both operating at baseband frequency, thecrosstalk signal is filtered and enlarged at DC frequency. Then an ADCmay be employed which converts the analog crosstalk signal into asignal, or an error signal, of the digital form.

If the difference frequency generation shown in FIG. 11 can beconsidered as “VCOi mix VCOk”, there may be another way to generate thedifference frequency by using “VCOk mix VCOi”, for example, by swappingthe signals used at the mixer input and clock input nodes.

The requirement for the band pass filter is not stringent, as any twosignals of undesired mixing products/inter-modulation products maycreate a crosstalk component by further mixing if the two signals have afrequency of Δf_(ik). As the further mixing of the higher orderinter-modulation products shown in FIG. 11( b) will also contribute toDC component, proportional to the crosstalk as well, the band passfilter BPF shown in FIG. 10 may be replaced by a high pass filter HPF,making it easy in actual implementation.

The amplifier Ampd may employ several stages, such as cascaded stages,to provide enough gain for the accurate detection about the crosstalk,and it is operating at the difference frequency, so AC coupling can beused for the connections between the stages, solving the difficult DCshift issues normally associated with a high gain amplifier.

The amplifier Ampb is operating at DC condition, the DC offset can be anissue. However, it can be solved by using chopping technique thatmodulates the flicker noise to higher frequency. One of the choppingswitches can be placed at output of amplifier Ampb, and the other can beinserted at any node of the crosstalk detection path, such as m1(t),a1(t) and m2(t). The impact of the flicker noise in Ampb may also bereduced by increasing the gain in amplifier Ampd.

As the crosstalk signal is finally down-converted into a DC signal, onlythe amplitude of it is interesting. As an alternative, amplitude,envelope, power, or peak detection methods can be used in crosstalkdetection. For example, a rectifier may be inserted before the LPFb, andthe second mixer stage and the difference frequency clock generator maybe removed, as shown in FIG. 12. This crosstalk detector based on peakdetection or a rectifier is simpler than that of FIG. 10 where two mixerstages are employed. On the other hand as a normal rectifier needs alarge amplitude at its input to operate at nonlinear region, theamplifier Ampd should provide more gain than the crosstalk detector orcircuit shown in FIG. 10.

In some applications, there may be two PLLs placed within a very smallseparation distance yet requiring a very low level of crosstalk betweenthem (after reduction). As a consequence, the crosstalk detector mayhave a large dynamic range to cope with the initial level of detectedcrosstalk as well as the target level. In particular the amplifier Ampdshould be kept out of saturation so as to ensure a correct errorgradient to the controller. In this case, a variable gain amplifier maybe required for Ampd so the gain setting is low at the of beginning ofthe calibration. As the calibration progresses the residual errorbecomes small, thus higher gain is required for the amplifier Ampd.

Because the residual signal is finally down-converted to a DC signal,the design of low pass filter LPF can be easy. For example, a firstorder RC filter may be sufficient to remove the difference frequencycomponent and at least some of its undesired mixing products. However,the bandwidth of the LPF will impact the setup time due to the fact thatthe product fc·ts is a constant, where fc is the bandwidth and is is thesetup time. For the first order LPF, the product is 0.35, reducing thebandwidth of the LPF may reduce the noise impact and increase thesensitivity of the detection.

However, on the other hand, it increases setup time for the residualsignal and slows down the calibration speed. Therefore, a variablebandwidth may be preferable for the crosstalk detector. During thebeginning of a calibration, a wider bandwidth of LPF may be employed,and the bandwidth will reduce as the calibration progresses. This alsoimplies that the sampling frequency of the clock used in the ADC can bechanged by the controller.

As the residual error signal is a DC signal, in a calibration procedure,the criteria of minimizing the error can be employed to reduce thecrosstalk between the PLLs.

A further exemplary crosstalk detector is illustrated in FIG. 13 wherethe first mixer stage includes a quadrature mixer that may work with aVCO signal S1(t)=ck(ω_(Loi)t) having a fixed unknown relationship withthe quadrature clock signals.

Another variation of FIG. 10 can be seen in FIG. 14, where the adderafter the second mixer stage is replaced with a multiplexer MUXcontrolled by signal sw. With this variation, the low pass filter LPF,the amplifier Ampb, and the analog-to-digital converter ADC are sharedby the two quadrature output signals m2i(t) and m2q(t) from thequadrature mixer mixdi and mixdq. As such, the quadrature outputs can beobtained which comprise both phase and amplitude information which canbe provided to the controller, and the controller will speed up thecalibration procedure effectively.

The controller can be implemented in many ways. One way is utilizing thegeneral processor that already exists in a modern wireless communicationdevice. Another way is to have a digital hardware comprising a finitestate machine or logic and storage units performing a routine work ofcalibration.

For multiple PLL applications, the calibration can be done between allpossible pairs. Assume there are m PLLs, then the calibrated pairs are:

-   -   Calibration(i,k), for {all i,k ∈ [1,m], i≠k}

Of course, for two PLLs having an enough separation distance ordifference frequency, the calibration in this pair for reducing thecrosstalk can be skipped, also depending on the radio standards.

After calibration, the residual error becomes small, and the normalizedresidual error can be approximated as

${{error}\left( {i,k} \right)} = \frac{1}{\sqrt{{\Delta \; A_{ik}^{2}} + {\Delta \; \theta_{ik}^{2}}}}$

where ΔAi_(k) is the normalized residual amplitude error and Δθi_(k) isthe residual phase error, respectively. It also gives the attenuationthat one can expect by using this technique. To reach good calibrationresult, a good accuracy is required for both the active leakagecancellation circuit and the crosstalk detector.

On the other hand, linearity of both the phase and the amplitude in theactive leakage cancellation circuit versus the control signal is notrequired, a monotone relation will suffice, and thus becomes feasiblefor implementation. For example, the active leakage cancellation circuitmay be implemented using a combination of a coarse control and a finecontrol.

As for robustness, the leakage to be cancelled can be assumed to be verystable as it largely depends on the geometry of the physical circuitstructure. Additionally, the propagation delays of the parasiticcoupling and the active leakage cancellation have the same direction,resulting in a common mode effect. This helps to reach a good accuracy.40-60 dB attenuation can be expected from this cancellation method.

The power consumption introduced by the active leakage cancellation isvery small because the leakage power is low and because the control loopcan operate intermittently.

The crosstalk reduction technique presented herein exhibits variousadvantages. Firstly, the technique accommodates more challengingtransceiver requirements, such as the ones defined in certain radiocommunication standards suggesting flexible carrier aggregation support,which requires a plurality of PLLs or COs on a same chip (or die).Secondly, according to the technique, the accuracy of the cancellationis based on crosstalk detection. As the error signal may be convertedinto a DC signal, the accuracy of the cancellation can achieve a highlevel. Thirdly, as the crosstalk has limited power, the cancellationcircuitry can be designed in a low power style, and it may not need tooperate continuously. Further, the crosstalk cancellation techniquepresented herein can achieve significant chip area reduction compared totransceiver designs based on PLL separation (physical separation ofPLLs) only. Moreover, the crosstalk cancellation technique presentedherein allows for more flexible floor-planning in transceiver design.Last but not least, the crosstalk cancellation technique presentedherein incurs virtually no Q reduction penalty.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the crosstalk reductiontechnique explained herein may be implemented using hardware circuitry,software, or a combination thereof. The software may be operable inconjunction with a programmed microprocessor or a general purposecomputer, using an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) and/orDigital Signal Processor (DSPs). It will also be apparent that when thecrosstalk reduction technique is described as a method, it may also beembodied in a computer processor and a memory coupled to the processor,wherein the memory is encoded with one or more programs that perform themethod when executed by the processor.

While the crosstalk reduction technique has been described withreference to the above embodiments, it is to be understood that thedescription is for illustration purposes only. Accordingly, it isintended that the invention be limited only by the scope of the claimsappended hereto.

1. An arrangement for reducing a crosstalk signal generated by a firstcontrolled oscillator, CO, to a second CO both comprised in anintegrated circuit, each CO adapted to output a respective clock signal,the arrangement comprising: a first detector adapted to detect thecrosstalk signal generated by the first CO to the second CO; a firstcrosstalk cancellation circuit adapted to generate a cancellation signalhaving an amplitude substantially the same as that of the crosstalksignal and a phase substantially opposite to that of the crosstalksignal; and a first cancellation signal injector adapted to introducethe cancellation signal into the second CO.
 2. The arrangement of claim1, wherein the first detector comprises: a mixer stage adapted toproduce a mixed signal (m1(t)) by mixing the clock signal (S1(t))generated by the second CO with a CO clock signal having a fixedrelationship with the clock signal (S1(t)) generated by the second CO;filter adapted to at least partially remove at least one or more of oneor more DC components and one or more undesired mixing products from themixed signal (m1(t)) to produce a filtered signal; a signal converteradapted to down-convert the filtered signal into a DC signal (m2(t));and an output for outputting the DC signal as an indication for thecrosstalk signal.
 3. The arrangement of claim 2, further comprising: acontroller adapted to provide a control signal to adjust at least one ormore of the amplitude and the phase of the cancellation signal based onthe indication for the crosstalk signal.
 4. The arrangement of claim 1,wherein the first crosstalk cancellation circuit further comprises atleast one of: a variable gain amplifier adapted to adjust the amplitudeof the cancellation signal; and a variable phase shift circuit adaptedto adjust the phase of the cancellation signal.
 5. The arrangement ofclaim 1, wherein the first crosstalk cancellation circuit furthercomprises an adjustment circuitry adapted to adjust the cancellationsignal, the adjustment circuitry comprising a quadrature phase splitterarranged to provide a first cancellation signal component with a firstphase shift and provide a second cancellation signal component with asecond phase shift, where the difference between the second and thefirst phase shifts is essentially 90 degrees; and wherein the adjustmentcircuitry further comprises at least one of: a first variable gainamplifier adapted to adjust an amplitude of the first cancellationsignal component; and a second variable gain amplifier adapted to adjustan amplitude of the second cancellation signal component, wherein thefirst crosstalk cancellation circuit is adapted to generate thecancellation signal as a sum of the first and second cancellation signalcomponents with any amplitude adjustments.
 6. The arrangement of claim2, wherein the signal converter comprises one of a rectifier and acomponent comprising a low pass filter (LPF) and an amplifier (Ampb)adapted to extract a magnitude of the filtered signal.
 7. Thearrangement of claim 1, wherein the first cancellation signal injectorfurther comprises a buffer adapted to isolate the cancellation signalfrom the second CO.
 8. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein the firstcancellation signal injector comprises a coupler for coupling thecancellation signal to the second CO, wherein the coupler is adapted toprovide one of an inductive coupling and a capacitive coupling.
 9. Thearrangement of claim 8, further comprising on-chip twisted differentialtransmission lines between the first CO and the second CO.
 10. Thearrangement of claim 1, further comprising: a second detector adapted todetect another crosstalk signal generated by the second CO to the firstCO; a second crosstalk cancellation circuit adapted to generate anothercancellation signal having an amplitude substantially the same as thatof the crosstalk signal detected by the second detector and a phasesubstantially opposite to that of the crosstalk signal detected by thesecond detector; and a second cancellation signal injector adapted tointroduce the other cancellation signal into the first CO.
 11. A radiocommunication device, comprising one or more of the arrangements ofclaim
 1. 12. A method of reducing a crosstalk signal generated by afirst CO to a second CO both comprised in an integrated circuit, each COadapted to output a respective clock signal, the method comprising thesteps of: detecting a crosstalk signal generated by the first CO to thesecond CO; generating a cancellation signal having an amplitudesubstantially the same as that of the crosstalk signal and a phasesubstantially opposite to that of the crosstalk signal; and injectingthe cancellation signal into the second CO to reduce the crosstalksignal.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein detecting the crosstalksignal further comprises the steps of: producing a mixed signal (m1(t))by mixing the clock signal (S1(t)) generated by the second CO with a COclock signal having a fixed relationship with the clock signal (S1(t))generated by the second CO; at least partially removing at least one ormore of one or more DC components and one or more undesired mixingproducts from the mixed signal (m1(t)) by filtering to produce afiltered signal; down-converting the filtered signal into a DC signal(m2(t)); and outputting the DC signal as an indication for the crosstalksignal.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: controlling atleast one or more of the amplitude and the phase of the cancellationsignal based on the indication for the crosstalk signal.
 15. The methodof claim 12, further comprising: detecting a second crosstalk signalgenerated by the second CO to the first CO; generating anothercancellation signal having an amplitude substantially the same as thatof the second crosstalk signal and a phase substantially opposite tothat of the second crosstalk signal; and injecting the cancellationsignal into the first CO to reduce the second crosstalk signal.